F1 ING Australian Grand Prix

Hamilton captures Australian Grand Prix

Mar 16, 2008 - 7:32 AM
MELBOURNE, Australia (Ticker) -- Lewis Hamilton got his bid for
the 2008 Formula One world championship off to a perfect start
Sunday with victory in a frenetic Australian Grand Prix.

The McLaren driver dominated from the pole position, overcoming
three safety car periods to take the checkered flag 5.4 seconds
ahead of BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld. Only seven cars made it to
the end of the 58-lap race.

"(The technical team) did a fantastic job," Hamilton said. "The
car was phenomenal, a dream to drive compared to the car we had
last year."

Nico Rosberg finished an impressive third for Williams, but it
was a disastrous day for Ferrari as both Kimi Raikkonen and
Felipe Massa failed to finish.

After capturing the pole in Saturday's qualifying session,
Hamilton made a clean getaway at the start of the race. The
lack of traction control was not a problem for the 23-year-old,
as he moved across the track to cover the inside line and keep
Robert Kubica at bay on the way into the first corner.

"I got away to a great start but had a bit of wheel spin, so it
was close going into the first corner," Hamilton said. "I had
to keep cool and look after the tires from then on, but I just
paced myself and didn't overdo it. I had plenty of time and
used that to my advantage."

The Pole was on his tail through the first chicane before the
safety car was deployed after Giancarlo Fisichella was launched
into the air, ending the Italian's race.

The first-corner problems also saw Massa pit after depositing
his Ferrari into the barrier as he lost out in a battle for
third with Heikki Kovalainen. Four other cars, including Jenson
Button's Honda and Anthony Davidson's Super Aguri, were forced
to retire.

The main beneficiary was Raikkonen, who managed to move his
Ferrari up to eighth after starting a disappointing 15th. After
the safety car came in at the end of lap two, Hamilton put his
foot down and quickly established a commanding lead over Kubica,
setting fastest laps in quick succession to open up a
7.6-second gap by lap nine.

Massa, meanwhile, managed to rejoin the race but was well down
the field.

Kubica pitted at the end of lap 16 and slipped down to fourth
before Hamilton made his first stop on the following lap and
rejoined in fourth, behind Heidfeld.

"The teams look at all angles and analyze exactly what could go
on in the race and plan for the worst," Hamilton said. "We have
a great strategic team, and putting me into (the pits) early
was great."

Raikkonen was hounding Rubens Barrichello, attempting one pass
down the outside of turn three before eventually getting his man
down the inside at the same place to claim sixth.

Hamilton regained the lead when Heidfeld, Rosberg and Kovalainen
all came in for fresh tires and fuel, the latter managing to
get out in front of the hard-charging Raikkonen for second place
after his stop.

Massa then punted David Coulthard out of the race while trying
to take 10th place up the inside of turn one, a move that
brought out the safety car for the second time on lap 26 and
eroded Hamilton's 12-second advantage over his McLaren teammate.

Massa eventually called it a day soon thereafter.

After the restart, Raikkonen managed to pass Kovalainen at turn
three. But he could not prevent his Ferrari from careening into
the gravel trap and was forced to pit before rejoining in 12th.

Undeterred, Hamilton set about re-establishing his cushion in
trademark fashion, setting a new fastest lap on lap 39.

Heidfeld had moved up to third in his BMW, while Rosberg was
enjoying a strong outing for Williams in fourth.

Raikkonen then spun on lap 42 as his Melbourne woes continued
before Hamilton made his second stop, an 8.6-second effort as he
fed in behind Heidfeld in fourth again.

The German was next to stop before the safety car again came out
on lap 45, where Timo Glock ran wide at turn 12 and his car
began to disintegrate down the straight after hitting bumps in
the grass.

Barrichello pitted from third and drove off with the fuel hose
still attached but incurred a 10-second stop/go penalty for
pitting under the safety car anyway. The Brazilian still
finished a solid sixth.

Kovalainen was forced to come in from the lead, a move that saw
the Finn slide down to ninth, before the safety car came in at
the end of lap 47.

Fernando Alonso then passed Kovalainen before Raikkonen, who was
enduring an eventful afternoon, again stopped in the pit lane
four laps from end - not far from the spot where he came to rest
in yesterday's qualifying session.

Sebastien Bourdais was on course for an incredible fourth place
in his Formula One debut before retired with smoke coming out
the back of his Toro Rosso near the end, although he still was
classified eighth.

Kovalainen then passed Alonso, but the Spaniard retook the
position on the home straight as they finished fourth and fifth,
respectively,.